


Elizabeth and Alice in Otherlands

by Lewdist



Series: Alice and Elizabeth in Otherlands [1]
Category: American McGee's Alice, BioShock, BioShock Infinite
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-07 06:19:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1888206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lewdist/pseuds/Lewdist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A crossover featuring Alice from the American McGee's Alice continuity and Elizabeth from Bioshock. Alice has taken it upon herself to help Elizabeth, and by extension her Wonderland. What are her motivations? And what awaits inside Elizabeth's head?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Through the Lighthouse

**Author's Note:**

> New chapters are being added periodically.

Elizabeth sighed as she looked out the window. It was raining outside. The one thing she hated about Paris was how much it rained. it always put her in a poor mood, always made her remember things she wanted to forget.

Resolving to fight against the day she sprung off the couch. A good book would help. And maybe a bit of wine. Wine was a fantastic way to forget.

She was perusing through one of her bookshelves when she heard a rapping on her door. Who could be visiting her apartment at this hour? It seemed too early for solicitors.

Peering through the peephole in the door she saw a young woman about her age standing at attention. She wore a blue dress with a white apron and had striking green eyes. Was she some kind of maid? In any case, she had her curiosity.

Elizabeth opened the door and spent a moment taking in the sight of the woman. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Alice Liddell and I'm here to offer you my services."

"Services?" Elizabeth questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I can give you peace of mind."

"What makes you think I need your help with that?"

Alice simply tittered to herself and slipped under Elizabeth's arm and into her apartment. Elizabeth stood aghast as Alice rummaged through her kitchen. "I'll call the police if you don't leave this instant!"

"But if I leave I won't be able to help you."

"I don't n-what are you doing?"

Alice turned and placed her hands on her hips. "Making tea, of course."

"Tea?"

"It'll help you relax."

"That's it." Elizabeth declared, raising a hand. "I'm sending you-"

"Would you kindly listen to what I have to say?" Alice interjected pointedly.

Elizabeth froze in place. Alice's words had struck her in the heart like a dagger. "How do you know that phrase?"

"Got your attention, did I? Well, no more questions for now. Tea time."

Elizabeth took a seat at the table and watched as Alice prepared tea for the both of them. It occurred to her that she didn't actually have any tea in the house, but that was the only a minor bafflement in light of what Alice seemed to know about her.

"Here." Alice said, handing her a warm cup of tea.

Elizabeth hesitated, but eventually accepted the cup. "Thanks."

"So, how do you feel?" Alice inquired.

"Good." Elizabeth admitted, nodding her head. "Tired."

Alice grinned wickedly. "Ah, that means it's working."

"What's working?"

"The drug." She chirped.

"Drug? You-" Elizabeth struggled to right herself but it was no use. Her muscles were useless and a haze had come over her vision. She noted, however, that Alice seemed to be in the same predicament. Why would she drug herself?

Elizabeth could feel herself falling, falling through her chair and out of life and into something new, something both different and altogether familiar. And then suddenly she saw a light so bright that it stole away her sight and consciousness.

When Elizabeth awoke it was in a whirlwind of confusion. The fugue was slowly lifted from her mind, but even so she had a hard time taking in what she was seeing before her eyes. Over the horizon was a city that seemed to span for as long as the eye could see. A twisted nightmarish metropolis with entire sections of land that seemed thrown into the air haphazardly. Bizarre spiraling obelisks jutted out from the skyline. Obelisks, she realized, that each resembled the Eiffel Tower after a fashion.

It was then that Elizabeth became aware of the fact that Alice was standing right behind her. Scrambling, she turned to face her. "What is this? Where are we?"

"Welcome to Wonderland." She explained matter-of-factly. "Yours, specifically."


	2. Arrival in Otherland

Elizabeth stared Alice up and down. She was clad in strange, archaic armor that she wore on top of her blue dress and white apron. Was it some sort of costume?

"My Wonderland? What does that mean? And why are you dressed like that? I don't understand any of this."

Looking down, it occurred to Elizabeth that she was dressed differently as well. Her white robes bore more than a passing resemblance to the statue on Monument Island. Stranger yet, her pinkie was once again restored. She supposed she couldn't just open a tear out of here. If tears even worked here.

"You will." Alice assured. "This world is a reflection of yourself. And with your current state of mind it looks like things have become quite mixed up."

"What do you mean by 'a reflection of yourself.'? Is this all just a delusion?" Elizabeth swept her hand towards the landscape around them. The two of them were standing on top of a sizable knoll that that protruded from under sandstone ruins not unlike ancient Algiers. In fact the whole area resembled some mockery or twisted version of middle-eastern architecture that seemed to be in the process of being reclaimed by the nearby forest. Red and blue vines and grasses seemed to touch everything.

"Your Wonderland is just as real as anything else you accept as real, delusion or otherwise." Alice quipped, her lips twisting into a wry grin.

"That's not very helpful." Elizabeth chided.

"No, I suppose not. But it is the truth."

"Great." Throwing her hands up in the air Elizabeth stormed off deeper into the ruins. Shortly Alice began to pace behind her with practiced stealth. Passing under a large sandstone arch the two confront a large staircase. As they ascended the staircase a large pedestal came into view. Jutting out from the top of the pedestal was a familiar object with three metal prongs.

"A Skyhook!" Elizabeth exclaimed, running up to the top of the staircase. The markings, the damage, this Skyhook looked exactly like the one that had belonged to Booker. Could Booker somehow exist in her Wonderland? Was he here waiting for her?

"I wouldn't touch that if I were-" Alice grimaced as Elizabeth tears the Skyhook from the ruins. "Now you've done it."

From deep in the surrounding overgrowth the sound of falling trees and fleeing wildlife fills the air. "Well, I was going to suggest we look around and see what's the matter with your Wonderland. But it sounds like whatever's wrong may have found us."

A tall, spindly form bounded into the clearing. It's initial impression is that of a heroic cavalier, albeit constructed and folded out of a thick yellow parchment. But the blood that leaked from each joint gave it an altogether more sinister cast.

"What is that thing?" Elizabeth cried in confusion.

"How should I know?" Alice shrugged "It's your mind, I'm just visiting."

Alice leaped to the side as the bloody aggressor lunged forward. It's pointed blade effortlessly piercing the rock that was at her feet.

Almost without thinking Elizabeth heaved the Skyhook in Alice's direction. "Alice, catch!"

The creature lunged again and again at Alice. She seems to dodge each blow with a preternatural dexterity. At last she clashed with the cavalier, catching it's long rapier blade in the Skyhook. With considerable effort she pushed the blade away, causing the attacker to lose it's balance. Now was her chance.

Alice danced behind the monster to take advantage of it's state. A crushing blow from the Skyhook brought the cavalier to it's knees. With a flourish Alice swung the heavy prongs down on the paper dervish's head. The paper helmet gave in with a wet crumpling noise.

With a triumphant grin Alice jumped on top of the body and locked eyes with Elizabeth. "Obviously our problems won't end here. This wretch was merely a symptom, not the cause."

Collecting herself Elizabeth inquired the obvious. "What do we do next? You seem to be the expert on these 'Wonderlands.'"

"We investigate, of course. And those towers we saw seem like as good as place as any to start."


	3. The King

After uncounted hours of walking Alice and Elizabeth came to a small clearing. A welcome sight after having to navigate a maze of trees and underbrush, some decidedly unfriendly to the presence of travellers. Sighing with relief Elizabeth increased her pace, but was stopped short by Alice, who raised a hand.

"Down." She commanded.

From the bushes they observed the clearing. A large rodent caught up in a snare trap was kicking up dirt and garbage in the middle of the clearing. As the creature struggled to right itself it showed itself to be a bipedal creature and, more alarmingly, capable of speaking in English. Cursing it's predicament it tried vainly to grasp the earth with it's tiny hands and affect some kind of foothold through which it could escape.

"That poor animal is trapped." Elizabeth observed.

"Tread lightly, Wonderlands can be deceiving. That 'poor animal' could be more dangerous than you realize."

As Elizabeth stepped into the clearing she heard a branch snap underfoot. At this the small being spun wildly in it's trap. "W-who's there? I'm armed, you know?"

Elizabeth raised her hands as she approached the trap. "Calm down, I'm here to help."

"Help? Then you aren't with...them?" It asked, trying to establish eye contact as it's spinning slowed.

"Them?"

"The king's army. Him and his men used to stick to the cities, but now they've been coming deeper and deeper into the jungle." It continued.

From behind Elizabeth could hear Alice as she drew closer. "Hm, it sounds like this 'king' is someone worth investigating."

"They set traps like these." He said, pointing to the snare. "To capture us and take us to his kingdom."

"What happens there?"

He shrugged. "Hey, uh, not to interrupt your questioning but you said something about help? All this blood going to my head is making me dizzy."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile as she loosened the trap and watched the creature right itself. It's mannerisms were exuberant and childlike, making her forget where she was for the moment.

"Thanks a ton, Missy. My name is Finder." It declared, raising a small furry hand in greeting.

Elizabeth took his hand in hers and softly shook it. "Hello, Finder. My name is Elizabeth. And this is Alice."

"Charmed."

Finder looked around at the garbage that littered the clearing. "Hey. You wouldn't mind helping me collect my things would you?"

"Is this all yours?"

Finder grinned proudly. "Every bit."

Alice watched impatiently as Finder and Elizabeth gathered up the junk around them. Broken cathode ray tubes, thin strips of paper, and others odds and ends of seemingly no use for someone like Finder. It also occurred to Elizabeth that there was far more on the ground than could have ever fit inside of Finder's small backpack.

"So, where are you two heading?" Finder inquired.

"The city." Answered Alice.

Finder emitted an uneasy whine and stared at her with his large brown eyes. "Is there any way I can talk you two out of going?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Then...can I at least come along? I'd feel real bad if you two got killed after you helped me and all."

"That-"

"I don't see why not."

"You really don't?" Alice asked in an exacerbated tone.

Crouching, Elizabeth ran her fingers through his soft brown fur. With each brush of her hand the low gutteral noise in Tope's throat rose in volume. "Oh come on, he's harmless. Look at him! He's purring."

Alice audibly huffed and folded her arms. "Of all the-fine! Keep your pet. But I won't be held responsible if he dies or reveals himself to be a turncoat."

"That's a terrible thing to say." Elizabeth accused, standing up.

As she approached Alice a small glimmering object caught her eye. As she bent to pick it up she realized it was a thimble, just like the one she wore before coming to her Wonderland. Rotating the thimble in her fingers she smiled.

Turning away from Alice she raised the small trinket so that Finder could see it. "Finder, I have a favor to ask." Finder tilted his head in reply.

"Would it be alright if I kept this?"


	4. Curiouser and Curiouser

The nightmare archectecture of the city twisted and bent in ways that seemed totally at odds with common sense. The myriad roofs and walkways formed a canopy that choked the sky and allowed for only the faintest of illumination from the bright red moon overhead. Each window was darkened and the streets were empty, save for Elizabeth and her two companions. Perhaps they were the only ones left? But that didn't seem likely judging from the streetlights.

Elizabeth turned to Finder and put a finger to her lips as he bounded across the street. Finder gave a nervous grin and shrugged in reply.

As the group rounded a corner Finder's ears perked up.

"Hear that?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Sounds like marching."

"The King's men." Alice added, drawing closer.

The marching became louder by the second. Taking cover, the group watched on as a legion of knights constructed from parchment marched through the streets. Some weird wiery and carried long lances, others were stout and wieleded long poleaxes. In the middle of the legion an especially large knight, some kind of leader, could be seen.

Just as it seemed that the legion would turn onto their street a great cry rang out from the commander. "Lacrimosas!" Twisted shadowy creatures seemed to swell out from cracks in the street and assailed the knights from every side.

"What are those?" Finder asked, turning to Elizabeth.

"I was hoping you knew."

"Psst! Hey!"

Elizabeth and the others looked around in confusion. The origin of the voice was a nearby cellar window. Two bright glowing eyes could be seen emanating from behind the glass.

"You need ta get outta the street!"

The group exchanged glances. What choice did they have? As they approached the cellar the window swung out, allowing barely enough room for all of them to squeeze through on their bellies.

As Elizabeth's eyes adjusted to the light she took in the sight of their savior. The man's bulk nearly scraped the ceiling and it was hard to imagine how such a large person managed to get around without great inconvienence. His large yellow raincoat and thick grey beard gave him the look of an old fisherman, the kind you might see on the cover of a novel or used in advertising some kind of canned food. One of his great limbs ended in a large hook, which he took great care to avoid showing off.

"They call me the Mariner, nice to meet ya." The hulking man said in a bizarre accent that seemed to come and go as he spoke.

"I'm Elizabeth."

"Alice."

"Finder's the name."

Mariner smiled, revealing a mouthful of broad teeth. Suddenly his eyes lit up in realization. "You three must be hungry, hold on and I'll get ya somethin'."

Shuffling off into a side-room the Mariner left Elizabeth and the others to stand in waiting, unsure of what exactly to do. Finally Finder settled on taking a seat at a small wooden table in the back of the room, where he was soon joined by Elizabeth and Alice.

"Here ya go, girls." Mariner bellowed as he shambled into the room. "I'll have yers ready in a hurry."

The two of them stared down at their plate in confusion. Whatever was on their plate looked equal parts fish and bird and was entirely uncooked.

"Well, he seems nice." Friender chirped.

"Seems that way." Alice muttered as she poked the meal with her finger. "Or this food could be poison."

"That's a terrible thing to say." Elizabeth replied.

Lurching up to the small table Mariner placed a plate in front of Finder and took up a seat of his own. "So what're ya two doing in the city? You don't look like locals, iffin ya don't mind me saying so."

"We're trying to reach the towers."

"The towers? What fer? The king lives there!" Mariner asked between bites of the strange fish-bird, which seemed to consist of some kind of jelly once the skin was pierced.

"And that's precisely why we need to go."

"Don't suppose I can talk you out of going, can I?" Mariner said, more to himself than to Elizabeth. Grunting, he pushed a section of thw wall, revealing a small staircase. "Well, the least I can do is make sure you get there safely."

Sticking to the walls the group followed behind Mariner, who was up to the knees of his waders in the pitch black liquid that flowed through the sewer. The sole sources of illumination were Mariner's glowing eyes and the occasional flickering electric light that hung from the ceiling. These factors combined to form an oppressive cloud that hung over the group and colored their every move.

Alice's face wrinkled. "It smells awful down here."

"It'll smell worse before it smells better." Mariner could be heard responding from up ahead.

"That's reassuring."

As they progressed deeper and deeper the lights became more frequent and eventually they arrived at a junction where a series of walkways connected various tunnels together. Mariner looked around briefly before moving on ahead, but abruptly stopped half-way across. "Girls, there be something in here with us."

As if summoned by the remark a bright red slight cuts through the darkened depths. Springing out of the water the intruder begins to rapidly ascend the walls, the sharp needles of it's feet clacking against the stone rhythmically.

With a great leap the spider-like beast pounced on the walkway. It's great weight unbalancing the walkway and threatening to plunge everyone into the dark waters below. Alice looked back at Elizabeth as she drew a weapon seemingly from thin air.

"Shall we?"


	5. Beautiful Soup

Smirking, Alice drew out her weapon. The long polearm terminated in a silver horse's head. It reminded Elizabeth of the hobby horse she used to play with as a child.

Teeth of needles and broken glass unsheathed themselves from the creatures shadowy flesh. Each ragged edge seemed to twist and writhe on it's own as the creature bellowed a challenge.

The Skyhook roared to life in Elizabeth's hands as she stepped forward to meet Alice. The two met each other's gaze briefly, before readying themselves against the creature.

Just as the creature tensed it's body the Mariner delivered a powerful shoulder tackle the caught the creature off-guard. Pressing the advantage Alice raised the hobby horse above her head and brought it down on the creature. It's head caved in with a sickening pop but rapidly began to reform itself.

Darting to the side Elizabeth caught one of the creatures legs in the metal prongs of her Skyhook. The rotary blades chewed through the murky flesh, but were halted by the creatures continued regeneration.

With a pained cry the beast lashed out with it's scything limbs, shearing sections of walkway and cable alike.

"Grab onta somethin'!"

Elizabeth felt the walkway under her feet give way. She reached out desperately with her Skyhook and managed to latch on to a piece of cable that slowed her descent. Suddenly the cable snapped and she once again found herself tumbling to the water below.

Closing her eyes and throwing her arms in front of herself Elizabeth prepared for impact. But the impact never came. When she opened her eyes she saw Alice looking down at her. In Alice's hand was a bright red umbrella that seemed, against all logic, to actually be slowing their descent.

The sound of rending metal made Elizabeth jerk her head over her shoulder. The umbral beast had lost it's footing and lashed out in all directions with it's limbs as it tumbled down, causing pressurized water and sheets of metal to fly about the chamber with monstrous force.

"Girls! We'll come find ya!" Mariner could be heard bellowing.

Landing safely on a piece of cleaved pipeline Elizabeth and Alice desperately held on to the sides. The pressurized water shot their makeshift raft out through one of the massive tunnels and deeper into the sewers.

Rocketing around a turn a low-hanging pipe came into view. "Duck!" Elizabeth cried out. Alice hesitated only for a moment, but that was nearly enough to knock her head from her shoulders.

As they flowed deeper and deeper into the tunnels their raft began to slow down. Eventually it evened out into a slow, steady dift that afforded Elizabeth and Alice some room to catch their breath.

"What are we going to do? We're separated from Mariner and Finder." Elizabeth asked.

"Well we can't stop here. Let's see if we drift into another junction."

The two fell silent and let the slapping of water against metal fill their ears. It was a calming noise that threatened to disarm their senses. Possibly aware of this Alice spoke up.

"You miss him a lot don't you? Booker, I mean."

Once again Elizabeth was filled with questions. How could she know about Booker? But she felt compelled to answer. "I miss him so much. Sometimes I feel like...that I'll never feel better again." She let the words hanging the air before adding. "Have you ever felt that way?"

Alice smiled knowingly and touched her necklace. "I lost my family when I was only seven. They all died in a house fire."

"That's terrible, I'm so sorry."

"Eventually you just learn to live with what happened. But you never forget the pain." She tilted her head and looked at Elizabeth's brooch. "I suppose that's not what you wanted to hear, though. Was it?"

"It's not that, I-wait, do you hear that?" An off-rhythm thumping could be heard coming through the nearby wall.

"That sounds like our friend Mariner. How fortuitous."

Stretching out her arms to steady herself Alice leapt onto the small walkway and began to shimmy along the wall. Elizabeth joined her and the two began to follow the sound. Soon enough Alice found a small access door. She carefully opened the door and peered in at the adjoining tunnel. Mariner and Finder were making their way deeper into the sewer, unaware of her presence.

"One wonders how you could make it down here so quick."

At this Finder let out a feminine shriek and ran under Mariner's legs. But calmed himself as soon as he realized it was Alice that was speaking.

"There ya are. I knew ye'd end up around these parts. Well come on, come on. We've got places to go."

For the better part of an hour the group followed Mariner through a seemingly nonsensical path that appeared to double-back, go around in a circles, and occasional turns that seemed to be chosen entirely at random. But eventually Mariner's sense of direction won out and the group found themselves climbing up a long ladder to the surface.

"Finally." Finder exclaimed, clinging to Mariner's broad back as he ascended the staircase. "My feet are killing me."

Elizabeth, the first to reach the top, slid the manhole cover aside and peered out at the street. Ragged figures in dirty clothes went about their business, including several small creatures like Finder. Across the street was a large theater with two large spotlights tracing patterns in the jet-black sky.

Nobody seemed to notice Alice and the others joining her on the street. Or if they did they didn't seem to care. They seemed mostly to keep to themselves.

As they walked down the street towards the theater a loose piece of paper caught her attention. It was some kind of poster. Curious, she bent down and straightened it out so she could read the contents. It was her face. They were looking for her.

 

'Wanted: dead or alive by order of King Atlas.'


	6. Mad Dancer

"Atlas?" Elizabeth face went pale. Atlas was in Rapture. How could he be here? Like everything else about Wonderland this didn't make any sense. Is he-

The thought was interrupted by a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Yeh doin' alright?"

"I-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some time to think" Elizabeth's head swam as she began to make her way back to the group. The buildings seemed to rise up as far as the eye could see and the shadows danced about her feet in confusing patterns.

Mariner looked around nervously. "That's good ta hear. But we'd best be gettin' out of the streets iffin' people are lookin' for ya."

"How about there?" Alice said, pointing to a modest-looking soup kitchen. Several dark faces stared out the window towards Alice's gesture.

"Good, good. Now let's get ye inside before-"

As if on cue they found themselves surrounded on all sides by creeping shadows that transformed themselves into suited figures with the heads of animals. Black-eyed crows, horned bulls, long-eared rabbits, each one carried a pair of cruel looking shears that they brandished menacingly.

A lilting voice echoed out from every direction. "Oh my! What do we have here? A couple of wanted criminals?"

Alice grimaced and slowly produced what looked like a common kitchen knife. "Now now, put those weapons away." The booming voice continued. "I'm sure we can work something out."

"Alice, no. He wants to talk. Let's talk."

"But fighting is so much more fun." Alice quipped in a disappointed tone.

"Come into my little theater." The voice commanded.

Sighing heavily Alice followed Elizabeth and others into a large theater. In the tradition of Rome the center of the theater was a large stage with seats ascending from every direction.

The animalistic figures poked and prodded the group onto the central stage. Looking out onto the audience Elizabeth saw all manner of strange figure, mostly the beastlike attendants, but several creatures much like Finder, and others stranger still.

The ceiling was a large stained glass enclosure that, disturbingly enough, began to shift and grind into a face, including an articulate mouth. "I believe we can work something out. Me and my little friends can look the other way and you can be on your merry little way. And all I ask for in return...is a dance."

"A dance?"

"You!" The voice demanded as a stage light highlighted Elizabeth. "And...you!" He finished, shining another light on Alice."

Alice folded her arms defensively and stepped away from Elizabeth. "I don't dance."

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Elizabeth said, extending her hand. As Elizabeth stepped forward Mariner and Finder were forced off stage by two crow-headed servitors.

"We could go down fighting."

Elizabeth smiled and wrapped her arm around Alice's waist. Flushing slightly Alice placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and entwined her free hand with Elizabeth's.

"I don't enjoy this."

"You don't have to. Now it's my turn to lead you." Elizabeth declared as she maneuvered Alice around the stage.

The two continued their dance for some time. Occasionally the booming voice would suggest some new maneuver or change the music in an attempt to trip-up the dancers. But Elizabeth took it all in stride.

"Elizabeth?" Alice inquired.

"What is it?" Elizabeth snapped.

"You seem distracted. And given our current life-or-death predicament I don't want you to lose focus.

Elizabeth sighed. "I won't, I just..." Her voice trailed off, seemingly stopping mid thought before continuing seconds later. "I have some questions."

"Well you might as well ask them. I'm as much a captive of you as I am of this wreched theater."

"How do you know so much about me? Why are you trying to help?"

"To put it simply, if you can see behind all the doors then I can peer through all the windows. I didn't like what I saw, so here I am."

"So you can...see inside me?"

"Something like that. Or maybe I'm simply mad and believe I can. It's quite hard to tell with this kind of thing."

"I feel like the more I ask the less I understand."

"I wish I had the answers myself. In the meantime I do what I can."

After a moment of silence Elizabeth spoke up again. "Alice...you don't have to stand so close." To which Alice flushed a deeper red and stepped back half a pace.

Presently the music subsided and the crowd began to clap and cheer. Even the horrible face in the ceiling ground it's glass plates together in a vocalization of approval. "Marvelous! Marvelous! You two shall make excellent additions to my show!"

"Additions?! That wasn't part of the plan. You said we could go free if we danced."

"Oh, did I say that? Well too bad!." The voice snarled.

"That's not fair!"

"who said art had to be fair? Seize them!"

With a cry of frustration Alice produced her metallic hobby horse. As the beastly attendants closed in on her she wound herself back and with a great effort threw her hobby horse into the air.

As the hobby horse rocketed towards the ceiling the large stained-glass face let out a cry of terror, but to no effect. The horse struck the ceiling, shattering the face, sending a hailstorm of broken glass down upon the theatergoers.

"Watch yerself!" Mariner cried, bounding out onto the stage and tackling the two girls. As the shower of glass subsided Elizabeth noticed a growing red stain originating from Mariner's back.

"Mariner!"


	7. Fly the Ocean

"Alright, now hold still."

Finder gently grasped one of the shards sticking out of Mariner's back and tugged slightly. Mariner swore furiously and kicked his legs out in protest as Finder freed the glass. Satisfied, Finder let the blue fragment fall to the floor.

"I said hold still you big baby. You're making this harder than it has to be."

"I'll kick and swear as much as I damn well please. I've got a right to it." Mariner then folded his arms defiantly. "Now let's keep at it."

The group had found a small abandoned bookstore to lay low in for the time being. The barricades had proved to be ineffective against Mariner's great strength and so far it seems that nobody had noticed their trespass.

Elizabeth and Alice both watched in concern as Finder worked on Mariner. Elizabeth had tried to help, but Finder rejected the notion out of hand saying "You two have been doing all the heavy lifting around here, time for me to pull my weight." And so they waited.

Mariner winced as Finder extracted another glass shard. "Ye got it all?"

Finder snorted. "Not even close, Mariner. Now stand still."

Elizabeth winced as she watched Finder slowly extract the glass from Mariner's back. It had been deeper than she had thought. "Are you alright?"

"M'girl I've been through far worse." Mariner replied, beaming even as a tear began to form in his right eye.

The large clock on the wall indicated that it was just before midnight when Finder finally completed his task. Relieved, Mariner had slumped against the wall

"Ye got somethin' ta drink in that pack of yers?"

Finder rustled around in his pack and produced a small green bottle that he handed to Mariner. Putting the bottle to his lips Mariner took an exploratory first sip, and then downed the contents. "Thank ye kindly. I feel better already."

"Thank Finder." Elizabeth said, edging closer to two. "Is he...is he gonna be okay?"

Finder nodded. "He'll be fine. He just needs to rest for a bit."

"Not to intrude, but what do we do now?" Alice said, joining the rest. "We're still a quite a distance from our destination and with no means to get there."

"That's not entirely true." Mariner replied, wiping his mouth with one yellow sleeve. "There's an aerocel a few blocks from here. The king's men use it to patrol the skies."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "And we're going to sneak in and take one? Sounds dangerous. I like it."

"So in the morning we'll-"

"The mornin'? We don't have time fer that. Night's the best time to be sneakin' in."

"But your wounds."

"Elizabeth is right." Finder added. "You need to relax."

"My back's fine." Mariner declared, taking a knee. With some effort he managed to right himself. "I ain't slowing us down."

The aerocel was a large circular structure consisting of a rotating platform. Suspended from the ceiling of the structure were several small aircraft. A number of guards, stout knights of parchment, patrolled the structure.

Returning from his brief scouting of the area Finder scampered up the side of the wall to join the rest of the group. "Looks like 7 guards. But the aircraft are there and near as I can figure they're in working order." With a grin he rummaged through his pocket and produced a small silver key. "And we've even got a key to start one up."

"That's m'boy."

Approaching the aerocel proved easy enough. The guards they couldn't sneak past they were able to distract with relative ease. Even Mariner's thunderous footsteps were masked by the sound of the guard's own padding feet. By the time they staked out an aircraft to commandeer thoughts of failure had been all but erased from Elizabeth's mind. All that was between them and their prize was one more guard.

"He's not leaving."

"I guess we'll have to take this one out. Mariner, you're up."

Mariner bounded across the platform towards the creature. As he brought his hook down on the attacker a spasm shot through his body, redirecting the blow into a clumsy swing that caught the guard in the neck, nearly decapitating it. The guard's body rapidly curdled into a black foam. But not before it let out a terrible scream, alerting the nearby guards. From across the field several more cries could be heard in answer.

"Well that's just great!" Finder exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Come on, let's hurry!"

Elizabeth ran her hand across the plane's silver exterior. "Here we are. Finder, where's the key?"

"Right here."

Hopping into the pilot seat Elizabeth took in the controls. It seemed simple enough. Almost like a bike, albeit with a few more levers and buttons. Taking a deep breath Elizabeth inserted the key, turned it, and...nothing. "What do we do? It's not starting!"

"Rotate the front thingy!" Finder cried.

"Front thingy?" Alice looked back to Finder "We're all going to die aren't we?"

"Enough of that, 'ere they come!"

Looking out at the field Elizabeth saw that their position would be quickly overrun by the multitude of parchment creatures overtaking their position. Elizabeth leapt out of the plane and switched places with Finder at the front of the craft. Putting every bit of effort she could muster Elizabeth turned the heavy propeller. Her efforts were rewarded by the sputtering of the engine as it roared to life.

"Yeah! Yeah! That's it! Guys, we're leaving!"

Elizabeth and Alice both hopped into the plane. It was as Alice was switching seats with Finder that Elizabeth noticed Mariner still standing outside the plane, bellowing a defiant challenge. It was clear he had no intention of moving from the spot.

"Mariner!"

"Sorry girls, it has to be done." Mariner replied over his shoulder.

"No it doesn't! "Mariner, please!"

Silently Alice detached the plane and taxied it into position. As they took off Elizabeth spared a glance down at the aerocel, and immediately regretted the act. Mariner was doing what he could, but he was quickly being dragged under the mass of attackers. His sacrifice would buy them time. But it hadn't been worth the cost.


	8. Hail to the King

Alice stood in front of the crumpled wreck that used to be their plane. "So, the landing could have used some work." She said, her hands firmly planed on her hips.

Elizabeth shook her head in a show of amusement mixed with frustration. "At least we made it. It should only be a day's hike if Finder's estimates are correct."

"Well!" Alice said in a cheerful tone, clapping her hands together. "No use crying over spilt planes. As you've said, we have a bit of a hike ahead of us."

Hearing this, Finder sighed and slung his oversized pack over his shoulder. Alice and Elizabeth made similar preparations and soon all three began the hike through the maze of abandoned buildings.

This island, like many of the others they had seen, appeared to have once been a part of a large and more complete metropolis. It had been Finder who noted that the chunks of floating rock all seemed to consist of pieces that could be roughly connected together.

This island was by far the largest they had seen. In fact it appeared to be even larger than the mainland they had departed from. Alice had speculated that in actuality this island was the mainland and that everything they had seen had been separated from it.

Much like the mainland the city appeared to be entirely devoid of inhabitants. Although unlike the mainland many of the buildings here displayed varying degrees of damage. Fire damage, crushed walls, and even buildings that looked like they had been cleaved by oversized claws or blades.

As darkness settled in the group found shelter in a small betting parlor. The roof was collapsed in places, but seemed largely untouched by the ruin afflicted upon the other buildings.

The chill of the night wind began to bite at the group. Alice, taking the initiative, gathered up some loose wood to start a fire. While she did this Elizabeth and Finder scoured around for materials they could use as makeshift beds. To this end they gathered up several heavy coats and laid them in a circle around the fire.

"Well, time for bed." Alice said, more to herself than to the group as she wrapped herself in one of the large coats and closed her eyes.

Elizabeth found herself unable to go to bed just yet and stayed up reading a small book. When she finished her book she looked around, fully expecting to see Finder in bed as well. Instead he seemed lost in thought as he stared into the flames.

"Finder?" Elizabeth ventured.

"I miss him."

Elizabeth frowned. "We all do."

"This really sucks." Finder said after a moment, scooping up a small rock and throwing it into the fire.

"I know, but we're almost there."

"We'll make Atlas pay for what he's done." Finder's tone betrayed a barely controlled anger.

"Yeah." Elizabeth said to herself as she stared into the fire. "Yeah we will."

In the morning the group resumed their journey. Elizabeth had woken early and made an attempt at cooking breakfast using some odds and ends from Finder's pack. The results were mixed.

After several hours of marching through the streets Elizabeth and the others turned down a street and came face to face with a large bridge. On the other side of the bridge one of the twisted towers jutted out from the skyline.

"We're close." Elizabeth observed.

The three were confidently marching across the bridge when suddenly Finder let out a feminine shriek. Elizabeth's eyes widened in terror as the ground beneath Finder's feet gave way.

"Finder!" Elizabeth screamed as Alice reached a hand out to grab him by the scruff of his neck. Finder's scream continued on for several more seconds, even after Alice had lifted him up and placed him on the ground.

He chuckled nervously as he looked around and realized what had happened. "I, uh, thanks for saving me Alice."

Elizabeth sighed and placed a hand on her chest. "I'm just glad you're okay. Now let's get off this bridge."

The three proceeded with caution as they finished crossing the bridge. Taking care to watch for loose stones and sunken patches. "It occurs to me. We haven't seen anyone since we've come here." Alice pondered to herself as she hopped down the walkway and onto the street.

"What do you think that means?" Elizabeth inquired."

"I think it means we could be walking into a trap."

"It's a bit too late to be turning back, if that's what you are thinking."

"I'm just saying." Alice replied with a shrug. "When it turns out to be a trap I told you so."

Alice's observation held true as they approached the towers. Even as they stood overlooking the towers they could see no signs of life, only the bizarre hidden architecture that the towers stemmed from.

Each of the twisting, spiraling towers interconnected at the base with a large metal structure that rested deep inside a large sinkhole. Tumorous growths lined the base of the castle and added to the impression that the structure was the result of some monstrous growth rather than anything made by man or beast. Intermittently across the surface of the castle an extension and an opening much like an open drawbridge reached out from the sinkhole and latched onto the streets above.

Finder tilted his head. "I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect this."

"Me neither." Elizabeth responded in a quizzical tone.

Alice's voice could be heard from down in the sinkhole near one of the bridge-like protrusions. Alice appeared in no mood to wait around. "You're coming, right?" Elizabeth and Finder exchanged glances before following suit.

"Creepy."

Elizabeth and the others wandered through a poorly-lit passageway. The red, white, and blue carpet combined with the symmetry of the geometric architecture of the interior gave her a distinct feeling of deja vu.

Presently the hallway terminated into a spacious antechamber alit with a strange ambient glow that seemed to come from the walls. Openings coming from nearly every direction suggested that this room not only did this room connect with all of the protrusions they say from outside, but that every single one was treated as "up" for it's respective direction. There was no indication of stairs or a distinct difference between what they perceived to be the floor and what they perceived to be the ceiling. The only thing that centered the room was a sizable staircase leading up to a large round stone pressed against one of the walls.

"Curiouser and curiouser."

With a concerted effort Elizabeth and Alice managed to push aside the stone to reveal a short hallway that terminated in a modest-looking wooden door.

Elizabeth stared in amazement at the tapestries that lined the walls as they made their way through the hall. They were her memories, brought to life with a textile and on display for all to see. Her life in the tower, slaying Daisy, the baptism, her "death" in Rapture.

"This is...me."

Finder perked his head up. "Huh?"

"These tapestries, they're my memories. My life."

"Come to think of it, they do look an awful lot like you." He mused.

Shortly they stood in front of the modest wooden door. It had a vaguely familiar quality to it that Elizabeth couldn't quite place.

Wordlessly she opened the door to reveal a decadent chamber that was equal parts cathedral and throne room. Candles lined the walls, casting odd reflections off of the stained glass windows. Windows that would seem to look out into nothing.

In the center of the room was a large statue. Elizabeth quickly realized that the statue was of herself, the lamb of Columbia. Resting beneath the statue was an throne of opal and gold. Shockingly, a grotesquely large form rested on the throne. It's marble features twisted into a grin of mocking warmth.

"Hey, how's my favorite girl doin'?" The voice of King Atlas boomed. "Figured you'd show up sooner or later."


	9. Alice in Outrage

"You know why we're here."

"Can't get me out of your head? I have that kind of effect on the ladies." He grinned sardonically. "Yeah, yeah I know why you're here." His tone turned angry. "Without me this whole place woulda' fallen apart! And this is how you repay me? You owe me!"

"I don't owe you anything." "You have no place here. You can't hurt me."

"Oh, you're gonna wish that were true, girly." With that Atlas stood up from his throne and cracked his knuckles.

Before anyone could react Finder lept at Atlas with reckless abandon. "You killed my friend!" He cried as he bared his tiny fangs.

Flinging Finder aside with minimal effort Atlas stalked towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth watched in terror as Finder skipped across the ground like a pebble, finally coming to rest against the wall with a heavy thud. With a smirk Atlas followed through by delivering a back-hand that caused Elizabeth to crumple to the floor.

Presently he turned his attention to Alice, but what he saw gave him pause. Alice was doubled-over, grabbing her head and shrieking incoherently. An animalistic cry that stunned Elizabeth as well as Atlas. Her skin began to blacken, her nails elongated and sharpen into cruel blades. Blood flowed freely from her eyes, staining the ground.

Atlas shook his head in confusion. "What the hell? What is this?"

Righting herself, Elizabeth was only dimly aware of the fact that the blow she received should have killed her. Come to think of it, she had barely felt any exertion from walking an entire day through the city. Had it always been this way for her in Wonderland?

Alice launched herself towards Atlas, blood frothing from her mouth. A right-hook from Alice cracked Atlas' marble features and sent him reeling, but he was soon on his feet again. The two traded blows, with neither one giving in.

With a cry of frustration Alice started to tug furiously at Atlas' arm. He planted his feet and pulled back in resistance, causing his marble skin to crackle from the strain. Finally with a final great effort Alice freed his arm from his shoulder, sending flecks of stone and blood flying.

His grip tightened on Alice's throat. "You bitch! You bitch!"

Alice smirked triumphantly, but stopped when she realized her skin had begun to lighten. Her transformation, whatever it was, had been brief. Alice, having reverted to her previous form, was quickly dispatched by a kick to the stomach.

Returning his attention to Elizabeth, Atlas was stunned to see that Elizabeth was on her feet. This brief moment of hesitation was enough. He noticed far too late to react that Elizabeth had latched the Skyhook onto his throat. "You don't scare me anymore." She declared, locking eyes with Atlas. Elizabeth pulled the trigger.

Atlas' eyes widened in fear. His hands were clutched around his throat in a futile effort to contain the blood seeping from his open throat.

Cradling the unconscious body of Finder in her arms Elizabeth watched Atlas as he stumbled forward several paces before he started to falter. The blood had ceased to flow and his breathing was shallow. Finally, he sputtered one last curse before collapsing to the ground.


	10. Black Queen

True to his word something much worse had bubbled to the surface upon Atlas' death: a plague of shadows that consumed all that it touched. And now she was lost, separated from her friends and wandering the darkness without any clear aim.

At irregular intervals the shadows seemed to nip at her, stinging her hands and feet. She knew that if she didn't find a way out that the darkness would soon consume her as well.

She thought about Finder and Alice, both lost in the shadows like her. She hoped they were okay. She had confidence in Alice, but When she had last seen Finder his body had been limp and defenseless, easy pickings for the predatory shadows.

After wandering for what felt like hours her thoughts began to turn inward. She questioned why she was even here, and and what she hoped to accomplish. As her thoughts reached their darkest point she noticed something up ahead. She couldn't see it, but she felt it was there.

Blindly wandering forward she bumped into something. As she felt it with her hands she felt the material give way to reveal small shafts of light. There was something inside this shape she realized as she tried to peer inside. Curled in the center of the briny cocoon was a young woman with long hair. Her youthful features and dress were intimately familiar to Elizabeth.

"It's...me."

Elizabeth threw up her arms to protect herself. Shadows lashed against her, producing small bloodless cuts where they made contact with skin. Elizabeth winced in pain, but steeled herself.

Reaching out, Elizabeth grasped at the ropey strands that kept the other her in place. In response the other her cried out and the fibers began to violently resist, forcing Elizabeth back. "Go away!"

"I won't leave us like this."

"You're the reason things are like this in the first place!" Shre replied to Elizabeth, brushing tears from her eyes. "Trusting him! Leaving our home!"

Elizabeth extended her hand in a sympathetic gesture. "You don't mean that."

"And Sally! Look what happened to me because of her. She wasn't my responsibility!"

"Maybe she wasn't. But it was the right thing to do." Elizabeth began to forge through the shadows and into the prison.

"It must be so easy for you to say that. After all, you don't have to live with the consequences."

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, taken aback by what she heard. "Consequences?"

Again the shadows whipped themselves into a fury. Cuts began to form all along Elizabeth's forearms and exposed shoulders.

"I'm so scared." The other her cried.

Forcing through the pain Elizabeth breached the prison. The umbral fibers fell away without effort as she pulled them away from herself. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. Not of Atlas, not of anything." Elizabeth said, taking the other her into her arms. "You're safe. You did it."

"I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"Don't be."

Elizabeth wordlessly consoled her as she began to fade away. Rather than expressing fear or anger, the other her seemed grateful. The forces that had manifested her no longer held any power over Elizabeth's Wonderland and the shadows retreated.

A wave of relief washed over Elizabeth as she heard Alice's familiar voice. "A little anti-climactic, I'd say. But mission accomplished." When she turned to face Alice she realized that Finder was with her as well.

"I'm not sure what you expected." Elizabeth replied, wiping away a tear.

"Oh, some kind of showdown. Carnage, that sort of thing. But-" Alice interrupted herself with a shrug. "In the end all is well."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a happy ending." Finder chimed in.

Elizabeth kneeled down and stratched Finder behind the ears. He seemed to enjoy that. Looking up, Elizabeth spoke again. "Listen, Alice. when we wake up I'll-"

Alice shook her head. "I'd love to, but that won't be possible."

"What do you mean?"

Alice sighed. "Elizabeth, in my waking world it's 1856. We've never met. Not in the waking world, anyway."

"How is that possible? That would make you..."

"Quite dead, in your time. And I'm afraid that any explanation lies far beyond the rational."

Elizabeth trembled as she searched for some kind of logical answer, something that would make sense of what she was hearing. "That's not..." Abruptly Elizabeth grabbed Alice's hand. "I'll find you." She continued. "Somehow."

"I think I'd very much like that." Alice replied, brushing back a strand of Elizabeth's hair. "You've been a wonderful friend. But you need to wake up now."

Elizabeth's flinched as her eyes caught the sunlight seeping through her blinds. Turning from the light she buried her head in her pillow. But the damage was already done, Elizabeth was wide awake now.

With a groggy realization Elizabeth looked around. Everything seemed normal enough. No odd buildings in the skyline, no strange creatures. Only...

Elizabeth picked up the small book lying next to her bed. A somber smile played on her lips as she read the cover. 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.


End file.
